The New England Patriots have a number of noteworthy free agents this offseason, none more so than Trey Flowers.
Flowers has made a rapid ascent up the ranks of the NFL’s most talented pass-rushers. After appearing in just one game in his rookie campaign in 2015, Flowers has amassed 21 sacks and 164 total tackles in the past three seasons combined. Not to mention, the 25-year-old has collected 5 1/2 sacks and 39 total tackles over the course of nine career playoff games.
As such, it comes as no surprise that Flowers will be one of the most coveted defenders on the open market when the new league year opens March 13. Given that Flowers’ prime years still are ahead of him, Peter King is projecting a lucrative payday for the highly talented defensive end. And even if the Patriots aren’t victorious in the Flowers sweepstakes, they likely won’t walk away empty-handed.
“Of all the front-seven impact players with bright futures who could be free Tuesday, there’s a good chance Flowers will be the only unrestricted free agent; the Patriots don’t usually break the bank for their own free-agents at the top of the market (see Nate Solder), so I would expect someone (the Jets, perhaps) to pay the 25-year-old Flowers somewhere around $17 million a year,” King writes for NBC’s Football Morning in America. “If so, the Patriots would be likely to get a 2020 third-round compensatory pick in return … that pick will be very close if not right on the nose to number 101 overall, five years after New England used the 101st pick on Flowers.”
A contract worth $17 million per season would put Flowers among the highest-paid defensive ends in the league. The desire for Flowers’ services likely grew even stronger Monday, as the Dallas Cowboys reportedly slapped the franchise tag on Demarcus Lawrence, as did the Kansas City Chiefs with Dee Ford.
It will be interesting to see how New England approaches Flowers’ free agency. The Patriots have stepped up to the plate to sign marquee free-agent defenders in the past — Dont’a Hightower, Devin McCourty and Vince Wilfork, to name a few — but given the loaded crop of talented pass-rushers in this year’s draft class, Bill Belichick and Co. very well could look to groom a new player vs. meeting Flowers’ high price tag.
Regardless, we have a feeling Flowers won’t be available on the open market for very long.
